Category → Day trips

Kite festival at Bolton Abbey

04 October, 11:13, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , , ,
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It’s not everyday you see two ten foot owls float gently overhead in a Yorkshire valley, but as our excited feet squelched their way through knee high dew-laden grass, that’s exactly the sight that greeted us in a field near Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire.

When the wind eventually decided to pick up a little, we spent a good few hours sending our Rainbow Delta kites soaring high overhead – making them little more than specks in the sky.

The kite flying community are a friendly bunch too, willing to impart advice on how to fly them and even let you have a go with their expensive kites. One man was kind enough to give us a small kite souvenir of the day that now sits proudly in the windscreen of our green minibus.

Take a look at the photographs below (select a photo to view a larger version).

Surprise day out at the National Coal Mining Museum

24 August, 17:36, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , ,
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Last Friday, our conservation group was supposed to be over at Pateley Bridge, clearing away pesky bracken but the weather had other plans. As the group were waiting in the foyer of Harrogate Volunteer Centre, the rain began to hammer down from a dark grey sky, bouncing off cars and pavement like thousands of glass marbles.

Sam took one look at the foul weather and made the sensible call to change plans and head elsewhere for a more productive day out in the countryside. A few minutes later he returned with the good news that our backup plan was to be a trip to the National Coal Mining Museum in Wakefield, there were sighs of relief all round except from Open Country member Charlotte who had already gone through the tricky task of putting on her waterproof over-trousers.

Billy and Deb with Maurice the miner

Billy and Deb with Maurice the miner

By midday we’d arrived at the museum to be greeted by ‘Maurice the miner’ – mascot of the National Coal Mining Museum and a very friendly chap who came over to meet us. The photograph here was taken just after Deb and Billy leapt off the bus for a piece of the action.

But it wasn’t time just yet to get our faces dirty with coal dust, we were booked in for a tour of the mines later in the afternoon so there was a bit of time to kill. We drove up to Emley Moor where there is a large TV and radio transmitter mast and a great view over South Yorkshire. A spot of lunch in the van kept spirits high before a quick chat outside in the wind to watch Billy practice his running.

After driving back down to the museum, it was time for a look around the museum – there were lots of interesting exhibits on the lives of mining families, industrial unrest and mining disasters in the 1980s. That last one might have put a couple of people off the underground mine tour we then went on, as a few members decided to stay above ground – that’s OK by us though everyone who comes out with Open Country can chose how to enjoy our days trips.

The underground tour was fantastic, we saw mining equipment still in use and how coal was extracted through the ages. Scary noisy stuff in parts and when we all turned off our torches we realised just how dark it was – you can’t see your hand in front of your face!

It’s great that even though the rain was pretty horrible we still managed to get out, and it might not have been conservation work this week but we had a great day out and everyone enjoyed themselves. Weather permitting, we’ll be out next week to continue our conservation work to help people with disabilities to access the countryside.

Canoeing at Pugneys Country Park

11 August, 09:25, by Chris Kenworthy Tags: , ,
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Boat sailing on a lake, there are trees in the foreground and background

Pugneys Country park (image by Wakefield Council)

Last weekend saw us take to the water at Pugneys Country Park in Wakefield for a fun-filled few hours on the water aboard open-top Canadian canoes.

Our activities were overseen by Mike, an instructor at Pugneys, who supervised the controlled ‘rough and tumble’ of a typical Open Country day out: safety always comes first, but we’re one of the more adventurous disability groups in Yorkshire. There was capsizing and water splashed about on the lake as we rafted up (lining up the boats next to eat other) and took it in turns to swap seats while still afloat.

We took twelve people in total including Sam from Open Country, volunteers and members. Our group was made up of mostly able-bodied individuals but we have taken wheel-chair users out on boats in the past. We don’t see obstacles when it comes to helping people with disabilities to access the countryside and we always try our best to make days out as accessible as possible.

After all that exertion we made our way over to Sandal Castle for refreshments at their café, unfortunately it was closed, but our hunt for snacks soon unearthed a treasure trove of ice cream at New Miller Dam where the day trip came to an end.

Do you want to have fun volunteering with us?

If you want to join us as a volunteer or find out more about Open Country and how we help people with disabilities to access the countryside, you should contact us or write a message on our Facebook wall.

Accessible cycling: wheely easy with Open Country

18 June, 09:00, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Open Country never let a beautiful sunny day go to waste, especially when there’s great accessible outdoor sites like Angler’s Country Park in Wakefield to cycle round on our tandems and duet wheelchair bicycles. Saturday was no exception and our team made up of Paul (Open Country), Chris (volunteer) and our members Jamie, Wayne, Adeline, Sally and Ian took the minibus over to South Yorkshire for a fun day out.

The minibus wheelchair access lift came in really handy for getting equipment in and out of the van, that’s four bikes in total borrowed from our tandem club with runs in Harrogate and Ripon, taking our members with disabilities into the countryside during the week. Adeline brought her own bike too, which we popped into the back after picking up each of our members from their homes.

Two tyres in swamp land, a birds nest is in one of the tyres

A bird's nest in some discarded tyres

Riding the Trans-Pennine trail through the dappled shade of a forest was an absolute joy for our members who just loved the fresh air, sunshine and countryside all around them. Like most of our day drips for disabled people, it lasted around six hours with a lunch break and stops for sight-seeing.

People just loved our duet wheelchair bike too, stopping us to ask about it or admire Wayne sitting comfortably up front while volunteer Chris acted as his personal chauffeur all day, huffing and puffing all the way round.

We did get a tiny bit lost after taking a wrong turning on a cycle track which turned the day into a bit of an adventure. We soon found our way back though, after Sally and Ian had chance to show off their riding skills, leaving us all for dust.

One highlight of the day came when we were cycling along next to an old disused colliery railway, Paul spotted a young bird perched in an impromptu nest, sited right in the middle of an old discarded tyre in some wetland. Nature always finds a way, a bit like Open Country when we get lost.

Do you want to ride in the sunshine with us?

We’re always after new volunteers who can join in us in our mission to help people with disabilities access to the countryside. It could be something as simple as riding a tandem bicycle with one of our members or even helping maintain our modest fleet of bicycles.

If you can’t give us your time, any donation will help keep our bicycles on the road when they break down, otherwise we have to turn members away from these countryside outings that they look forward to so much.

A Day in Bridlington

16 June, 10:00, by Open Country Tags: , , , , , ,
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It’s rare that the humble sat nav gets a mention in any blog post, but our unit gets a special commendation for services above and beyond the call of duty on Saturday 5th June. So arise Sir TomTom, who guided us without incident through the back roads of North Yorkshire, circumventing hours of hot and sticky traffic jams between Harrogate and sunny Bridlington.

Ian stood with a sand-castle bucket on his head

The 'Squirrel' (Ian) at Whitby

We had twelve people on the outing: a mixture of people with disabilities, wheelchair users and volunteers, who after taking the scenic route were ready for a jaunt in the glorious sunshine. Like all Open Country day trips, we provide access to the countryside for people with disabilities but we offer them freedom and independence to do as they choose at our destination.

Saturday was no exception, Sam (Open Country) took a few people for a look around the beach, harbour and fair while Anita and Helen seized the opportunity to go shoe shopping. Others had fish and chips, ice creams and a play in the sand. How delightful.

Do you like sunshine and the countryside?

Then come with us! If you share your time volunteering with us, we can continue our mission to help people with disabilities access to the countryside on days out like these.

A simple trip to the seaside encourages independence, confidence and improves someone’s quality of life but we can’t do it without your help: leave a comment below to get involved or contact us to find out more.